ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT In this paper, an approach for the numerical design of reinforced concrete structures with regard to durability is presented. The concept is based on nonlinear finite element simulations to evaluate the cracking behavior of reinforced concrete structures. Here, the crack width at the reinforcement layers is used as an indicator for corrosion vulnerability. The structural durability is optimized by minimizing the exposed lateral surface of reinforcement bars. Within the optimization, uncertain a priori parameters (structural loading, material properties) and uncertain design parameters (concrete cover) are considered by means of stochastic distributions and intervals, respectively. To solve the optimization task, the finite element model is substituted by a numerical efficient surrogate model. As an example, the cracking behavior of a reinforced concrete bridge structure is optimized considering the accepted failure probability with respect to the load bearing capacity as constraint.
